


teakettle love

by liesmith



Category: Cow Chop
Genre: Commission fic, Multi, somewhat sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 12:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13570236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liesmith/pseuds/liesmith
Summary: how does he not notice his friends are dating?oraleks is a jealous kitty(somewhat sequel to 'fake empire'. not necessarily needed to read beforehand)





	teakettle love

When Brett offers to take him out drinking, Aleks accepts, because what the fuck else is he going to do? Go home and be alone? Yeah, right. He’s… mildly surprised when James comes with them. That wasn’t James. Still, it’s kind of welcome, having him here. Aleks can’t remember the last time he hung out with James, let alone sitting around at a night time bar drinking in the slightly chilly LA air outside. His hands wrap around the double vodka Redbull, ignoring how the cold just makes his arms get goose bumps along them. It’s fine, sitting here in the quiet, but he has a small sinking feeling in his stomach that he’s some sort of third wheel here.

James and Brett are pressed shoulder to shoulder, James rocking a beer bottle along the table and Brett, fingers pushing around a small thin black straw in a tumbler glass. Brett’s talking, but he’s directing his story more towards James, whose head is ducked and smiling, just enough to show his dimples.

The sight makes Aleks look away, as if he’s seeing something intimate, and the small twist in his belly most definitely is jealousy, which… honestly, Brett and James have been hanging out together for awhile now. Just by themselves. Brett’s a night owl, he’ll crawl all over the city to find things to do instead of go home, so why the fuck are they chilling?

Then it dawns on him. Are… they dating? Are Brett and James dating?

Good thing Aleks is still sober and is smart enough, for now, to just ignore that thought. He, however, does loudly interrupt when Brett says something familiar, and tries to get the attention on him, even just for a moment, because it makes him stop thinking so hard about the two in front of him.

It works, of course it does, he’s loud and obnoxious, but not in the way Aleks wants it. The attention just makes him feel worse, despite himself.

He leaves early, despite Brett’s protests, but let’s the man call him an Uber.

At least, at home, Mishka still loves him and doesn’t mind Aleks cuddling her in a death grip. 

 

* * *

 

When he wakes up, he has a couple of texts from Brett.

_u ok?_

_hey aleks are you ok? why aren’t you answering?_

_aleks?_

He ignores them to look at his Snapchats, which don’t make him any happier. Brett and James smiling at the camera. Brett drunk and loud, filming James as they walk down the street. There’s a couple more of just Brett, drunk as fuck, and blurry unfocused James here and there, and then… the last one.

That’s definitely James, hair undone, cheeks flushed, and shirt rucked up, and on Brett’s bed.

Aleks knows, because he’s been little spooned on that bed when they’re both too drunk to coordinate.

And the succulent on the nightstand is a dead giveaway, too.

He drops his phone accidentally onto Mishka, who startles awake and barks, loudly, and zooms out of his room. Motherfuck. Aleks unwillingly follows, stopping by the bathroom first, but he manages to slide on sneakers and sunglasses, baseball hat crooked on his head as he walks his beast of a dog.

While she pees on some old lady’s peonies, he figures Brett deserves a response to his texts.

**didn’t know i was interrupting a date. went home early**

_wasn’t a date_

Aleks hate how quickly Brett gets back to him. Who the fuck functions this early? Mishka’s pulling on her leash, so Aleks starts walking again, typing with one hand as he squints at his phone.

**ye uff u aay ao. u n jaems wur veey cozt**

_are u drunk still? so what if james and i were getting close?_

Aleks wants to say:

because i like you both, idiot

But instead, he says:

**bc i dont wana be a 3 weel**

_you weren’t_

His head hurts. Aleks just lets Mishka lead him, trying to decipher Brett’s words. What the hell does he even mean? If him and James are together, why would they want Aleks there? He just scrubs a hand over his face, sunglasses bumping into the rim of his hat. Instead of responding, Aleks just pockets his phone and walks his dog, for real now, finding their usual path and jogging besides her, despite feeling like shit.

Forty minutes later, Mishka’s only slightly less peppy, so Aleks calls it a day and brings her back home. Food and water and Aleks looks in his fridge for himself. Nothing peeks his interest, so he decides to forgo breakfast as he steps back into his bedroom, beginning to undress for a shower. He almost ignores his phone, but the twisting bit of curiosity makes him look.

_we wanted you out with us. im not sure if you noticed, but james is so in love with you it’s kind of pathethic. look at this face_

Sent below the text is James, purposely exaggerating a puppy eyed face, but his cheeks are hot, eyes cast elsewhere.

_also, you know i love you. idiot._

Aleks is… he’s not sure. He wants to call Brett out on bullshit, but he knows, deep down, it’s not. Brett and him, James and him… Aleks has been very effective at dancing around his feelings, always has. He wasn’t going to ruin literal lifelong friendships just because he got a couple of long harbored crushes on his friends.

**oh**

_fucking idiot_

Aleks tosses his phone onto his bed and just decides to shower and pretend none of this is happening. When he gets out, of course, that’s not how life goes.

There’s no texts, but a snapchat of Brett.

It’s a video, which is even more annoying.

“Hey, shithead. It’s noon, so come get lunch with us, and stop being a pus-”

The app takes a second to load the next video.

“y, alright? Look pretty.”

Aleks hates them both so, so much.

He still does get dressed, doesn’t know what the fuck Brett means by pretty, ‘cause he generally always is, and bids his dog goodbye. Celia has appeared from wherever cats come from, making a soft ‘mrow’ in his direction, and Aleks figures that’s the best he’ll get for good luck from anyone. 

 

* * *

 

Aleks meets them at some fancy ass restaurant Brett clearly picked out, because neither James nor him have any class. Brett’s waving from an outdoor table, sunglasses tilted downwards so he can see, and Aleks glares as best he can from behind his own pair. He decides to accessorize with flipping Brett off, who just laughed. Asshole. He made his way through the restaurant and out to the table, sitting across from Brett, still glaring.

“Where’s James?”

“He went to go check on Ein, so he’s probably laying under the stars with her for twenty minutes before he comes, which, is fine. I wanted to talk to you, anyways.”

“Wow, awesome. Can I get a drink in me first?”

“It’s just _barely_ noon, Aleksandr.”

“Yeah, you heard me.”

Brett rolled his eyes, but when the waitress came over to take drink orders, he got Aleks one, and then one for himself. Aleks looked smug for a moment before he remembered that this just meant they had to talk, and looked down at the table, suddenly interested in the swirly design on the glass.

“We don’t have to talk,” Aleks tried, catching Brett’s eye over the top of his sunglasses, “we can just not talk, ever.”

“Aleks, c’mon. Why are you being so shy?”

“It’s,” Aleks starts, shoving his sunglasses up into his somewhat still damp hair, “I don’t want to ruin anything. Between me and you, or me and James. We’re… really good friends, man.”

Brett hums, thinking for a moment, and then reaches out and covers one of Aleks’ jittery hands with one of his own. “I like you, Aleks. What do you want to do?”

Aleks wants to looked annoyed and yank his hands away and James’ arrival, at least, startles him enough to pull them away. He just clears his throat and drops them to sit between his knees, running a thumb over his knuckles. Jame just grins and sits between them, ordering himself a water when the waitress brings their drinks.

“Dude, already? It’s noon.”

“Aleks likes to drink,” Brett shrugs, lifting his glass and tilting it towards Aleks, “right?”

“Shut up,” Aleks mumbled, taking a long drink of his before putting it down, looking displeased by the burn. Dammit. He just shifted a little in his chair, attempting to get comfortable as he looked between the two, “are we really doing this?”

Brett shrugged. “Depends. I know decision making isn’t your strongest suit, but you do have to make this decision.”

“Shit,” Aleks says, staring up at the little umbrella covering their table, “shit.”

James shifts a little in his chair. “... Uh, I’m interrupting something?”

Aleks shoots him a glare. “You think?”

“Hey!” James lifts his hands, waving them a little, “c’mon, this isn’t my fault! Brett’s making me do this too!”

Aleks turns his glare onto Brett, who just grins at them both.

“Hey, c’mon. I’m trying to move things along. You both are stubborn as shit. Are we doing this or not?”

Aleks take another drink of his glass instead of answering. Brett just rolls his eyes, kicking Aleks in the shin under the table.

“Don’t clam up on me, Aleks,” Brett starts, leaning forward, cheek smushed against a closed fist, “you don’t have to answer now, but don’t run away. I know where you live, and I’ll take your dog.”

“Mishka loves you more anyways, dude. That’s a weak threat.”

James just elbows Aleks next. “Just relax, man. Let’s have lunch.”

Lunch. Sure. Aleks can do that.

Lunch turns into the pier turns into screaming at each other over arcade cabinets turns into Aleks getting drunk turns into a food truck dinner because Aleks will just embarrass them all at a restaurant turns into them all piling into an Uber, Aleks tucked between them both, Brett half drunkenly telling the man his address as he half wrestles Aleks into submission with no help from James, the soberest of them all, turns into…

Aleks wakes up to an ache in his head. An arm is around his chest, but he’s curled awkwardly between the two bodies, head on… Brett’s chest, so James is behind him, hugging him like that… Aleks just groans soft as the light is enough to bother his hangover, covering his face with an arm and attempting sleep.

It comes, at least, but he loses his pillow. A hand pushes his hair back, fingertips drag against his jaw, and then Brett’s gone, leaving Aleks to James, who merely snuggles in closer, completely unphased by all the moving. Course not. He went to bed fucking sober.

Still… it could be worse. Aleks turned in his arms and tucked them up under James’, laying his head on his shoulder, fingers catching a loose curl.

James rumbled in his ear and Aleks gave a nervous laugh, pressing himself closer. “... Hey.”

“I don’t know how you aren’t dead of alcohol poisoning.”

“Yeah, me neither. Keep trying, though,” Aleks spoke softly, head starting to give off a dull pound, “don’t know how Brett does it.”

“He’s not human,” James murmured, a hand dragging down Aleks’ spine, laying at the small of his back, “but neither are you.”

“Maybe,” Aleks echoes softly, curling the strand around his finger and letting it go, watching it bounce with lid eyes, “hey, I… do love you, James. You know that, right?”

“It’s old news,” James agreed, tucking his face against the bits of grown in brunette at the side of Aleks’ head, beard tickling the shell of his ear, “it’s nice to hear it, though.”

“Fuck you,” Aleks mumbled, though the tone holds no malice, just tired and achey, “aren’t you going to say it back?”

“No,” James shrugs, “because your breath smells like shit, so I don’t love you.”

Aleks grunts. Asshole. They don’t move or speak anymore, but Aleks is pleased when Brett’s warm body, still just slightly damp from a shower, slides behind him and kisses his ear, mumbles something about breakfast and aspirin.

And, maybe, for someone who hasn’t committed yet, this was maybe moving just slightly too fast, but for right now, Aleks hardly cared.

**Author's Note:**

> hey im sad and im trynna not to be
> 
> this was a commission fic for @frogums on tumblr who wanted a sequel to 'fake empire'. if you're interested in commissioning me, feel free to drop me a message at my email: sidekickcomplex@gmail.com


End file.
